Parkinson's Protein Protects Neurons from Stress Induced Cell Death: "Parkin" Activates Survival Mechanism of Neuronal Cells
Neuherberg/Munich. Parkinson’s disease, also known as shaking palsy, is one of the most frequent diseases of the nervous system. Cell death of neurons in specific regions of the midbrain is leading to the onset of the disease. However, the the causes for this extensive cell death are unknown. Especially in cases of early manifestation of the disease mutations in the so-called parkin gene are of great significance. In a collaborative effort the groups of Dr. Konstanze Winklhofer (Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich) and Dr. Daniel Krappmann (GSF – Research Center for Environment and Health, Neuherberg) have now been able to reveal a novel function for the Parkin protein.